On Tuesday, October 3, five ostriches escaped from a farm in Foshan, Guangdong province, running an impressive 50 kilometers down a highway before they were caught, according to South China Morning Post.
The animals escaped from the farm, which is owned by a man surnamed Liang, after they charged the door of the shed they were housed in, breaking the wire hook that held the door in place.
“They have been behaving but I forgot to lock up the shed properly this morning,” Liang said of the animals’ escape, according to SCMP.
Despite limited traffic, due to people out of town for the National Day holiday, the birds still managed to cause delays for motorists in Foshan’s Shunde District, local police told Guangzhou Daily.
Police were dispatched to round up the frenzied ostriches, with two apprehended by officers at an intersection after they began to slow down. Another two were captured by other officers at a bus stop, aided by members of the public.
The fifth bird was located and wrangled by farmer Liang.
Unfortunately, the four birds caught by police died due to exhaustion. According to the SCMP report, Liang has stated he does not intend to continue farming the giant birds after the incident.
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This is, perhaps surprisingly (perhaps not), the second time ostriches have caused havoc on a Foshan road. Back in May of 2016, the city experienced traffic delays when two ostriches took a side-by-side run through morning traffic.
Both of those birds also died (as often happens when you run aimlessly down the middle of the road) – one after being hit by a car and the other from stress and injuries it sustained after being “brought to the ground and tied up with an electrical cable.”
[Image via SCMP]
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